EU to Greatly Loosen Restrictions... "Allow Entry for Vaccinated Individuals"

Starting as Early as June... Tourism Boost During Vacation Season
Expansion of Countries Allowing Entry for Unvaccinated Travelers

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The European Union (EU) announced on the 19th (local time) that it will allow entry not only to COVID-19 vaccinated individuals but also to unvaccinated travelers from whitelist countries as early as June. This comes after a ban on non-essential travel was imposed in March last year to curb the spread of COVID-19, lasting for about 1 year and 2 months.

Ambassadors from the 27 EU member states approved an amendment on the same day, which mainly allows entry for foreign tourists who have been vaccinated, according to major foreign media citing sources.

The amendment will be implemented after official approval from member states. An EU official told CNN, "It is expected to be implemented from June, when the summer vacation season begins, to revitalize the tourism industry."

Under this measure, foreigners who have received vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) such as Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Janssen, and have passed two weeks since vaccination, will soon be able to enter the EU. Vaccines that have received emergency approval from the World Health Organization (WHO) may also be included depending on each country's decision.

The whitelist of countries whose unvaccinated citizens can enter will be expanded from the current seven countries including Korea, New Zealand, and Singapore. The criteria for whitelist countries will be relaxed from 25 to 75 new confirmed cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks.

However, additional quarantine measures may be imposed depending on the member state. Some countries may require a negative COVID-19 test certificate, proof of vaccination, or enforce quarantine measures.

Entry may be suspended for countries where COVID-19 variants are detected or where the spread is increasing. An EU ambassador said, "We need to consider whether to apply this to the UK, where the variant originating from India is spreading," adding, "Some member states, like Portugal, have already taken independent measures against travelers from the UK."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.